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WOULD
the economy now be measured on the aria sang by
McDonald’s Philippine chief? With the Golden Arches
Development Corp. chief executive launching his first
commercial album of his own rendition of Neapolitan
songs, that may be possible.
How much
George Yang sings could replace the price of a
McDonald’s burger—like what Economist magazine does
every year—as yardstick of the peso’s strength.
The
Economist has said its Big Mac index “is based on the
theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP), according to
which exchange rates should adjust to equalize the price
of a basket of goods and services around the world.”
Their basket is a McDonald’s Big Mac.
But Yang
told reporters at Wednesday’s launch, what was in his
mind when he began recording for the album of 11 songs
titled Always Yang was another matter.
“All the
proceeds from the sale of the album would go to the new
foundation we put up to support students of classical
music,” Yang said before singing one of his three
favorites pieces: Furtiva Lagrima from Gaetano
Donizetti’s opera L’elisir d’ Amore (Elixir of Love).
He says
it took him two to three months to record all the songs
in a compact disc to be sold under the Universal Records
label for P280 each.
He says
he has plopped P2 million for the Klassikal Music
Foundation to jump-start its operations. Half of the CD
sale would go to payment of royalties, orchestra and
other administrative expenses.
“I just
want to help propagate the love for classical music,” he
says on why he embarked on such project.
Opened
26 years ago, the American fast-food restaurant chain
continues to wrestle with rivals to either maintain or
expand further its market share. Despite its worldwide
market share, it had tasted its first defeat in the
hands of a local burger chain right here in the
Philippines, Yang’s company Golden Arches became its
Philippine master franchise holder just three years ago,
after the Americans saw their market share edged out by
rivals who offered the same product, the burger, at
competitive prices.
Two
decades ago, the Economist editor just wanted to explain
in a lighter way how exchange rates work using the Big
Mac.
In its
February 2007 edition, the Economist cited the
Philippine version of that sandwich is 46-percent
“undervalued” against the dollar, or cheaper as when you
buy it in
Bangkok.
But that
time the actual exchange rate was pegged by the magazine
at P48.9 to a greenback. In Wednesday’s mid-day trade,
the peso gained further to 42.75, its strongest level in
seven years.
After
Yang’s album launch, the burger—two beef patties,
lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and relish, drinks and
fries—remained at P99 ($2.30), which is P14 higher than
the P85 the Economist recorded in January.
Of
course that time, Yang was still basking in his newfound
popularity as a tenor, having just finished a solo
concert for the Ronald McDonald House Charities and with
celebrity endorsers and opera singers in Adeste Fidelis
musical play.
Under
his feather are two noncommercial albums titled “Yang at
Heart” and “Forever Yang.”
But
would the sale of his albums reflect the performance of
McDonald’s positively? Yang failed to reply since he was
already being requested by an audience of friends to
sing more.
That,
hence, could be the Yang Index: the level of Filipino
appreciation for classical music and, maybe, a Happy
Meal. |
